


the dancing (and the dreaming)

by Jelly



Series: fics fighting fires [4]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:07:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22527571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jelly/pseuds/Jelly
Summary: “Show me how to waltz.”[Written for fics fighting fires for tumblr user @just-another-trans-twink]
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Series: fics fighting fires [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1601734
Comments: 16
Kudos: 185





	the dancing (and the dreaming)

_ one _

“I should teach you to dance.”

It’s an off-hand statement. Rayla has to do a double take because it’s not something she ever expected from  _ him.  _ Callum has never been particularly good at anything that requires co-ordination, and he’s been to the Silvergrove enough times for her to know that, between the two of them,  _ she’s _ the dancer, not him. She sniggers into her jelly tart - Moonberry flavoured, courtesy of Barius the baker - and almost chokes on the pastry.

“ _ I _ know how to dance,” she snorts. “ _ You _ , on the other hand?”

Callum lets out a patient laugh. “I mean a human dance,” he says. “A waltz. For the wedding.”

Ah. That makes a little more sense. Rayla swallows the mouthful of tart.

They’re in the garden today. There are plans and letters and invites spread out across the table that they’ve only been pretending to review because the wedding  _ here _ , in Katolis, is more of a formality, and honestly, neither of them could care any less about what their stationery might look like and which nobles turn up. Callum’s obviously been thinking about it more than she has because it hadn’t even occurred to her that they might be expected to do anything more than make an appearance.

She waits for the punchline because surely there  _ is _ one, but Callum picks off the corner of his own tart and pops it absently into his mouth.

Rayla’s lips twitch. “Are you - er - sure  _ you _ want to do the teaching?”

_ That _ earns her a laugh. Callum sets down the letter in his hand - the seal looks like it’s from one of the lesser families of Duren - and sits back in his chair. “I know this  _ one _ ,” he chuckles. “My mom taught me.”

“Oh?” Rayla’s smirk fades into something a little more genuine. “Do tell.”

Callum chuckles at her. “It was something she danced with my step-dad when she married him. She taught me because she wanted to ‘practise’. I thought… it might be nice. To do at ours, I mean.”

He’s blushing now. It’s pretty cute. Rayla doesn’t even have it in her to tease him about it. “Ours here?” she asks. “Or ours at the Silvergrove.”

“I dunno,” says Callum vaguely. “Here? Both? I know that dancing is pretty important in Moonshadow culture, and I don’t wanna -  _ ha _ \- step on any toes by wanting to involve a human tradition, but I mean, at least here it might be nice? But, like, the one here’s just a formality and I don’t want to make you do anything you’re not really comfortable doing, but I thought -”

“Callum.” Rayla wants to laugh. He’s so flustered, all of a sudden, and it occurs to her that maybe the wedding here isn’t  _ just _ a formality to him. He might not want the pomp and the circumstance, but it’s still his wedding, isn’t it? If he’s going to be forced to sit through it, he should at least get to make it special.

She gets up.

“Show me how to waltz.”

He blinks at her. “Wait - um - here?”

“Yeah,” she says, a hand outstretched to him. “Why not?”

“But - uh.” Callum coughs, awkward and embarrassed and a little like a teenager all over again. “There’s no music.”

“Like we’ve never danced without music before,” laughs Rayla. She takes his hand in hers without waiting for an answer and tugs him upwards until they’re chest to chest and in position. She doesn’t know a lot about human dances, but she knows this is  _ sort of _ how it goes. It’s how they dance at formal human events, anyway, and any excuse to be so close is obviously a good one. “Like this?”

“Ah - not quite.” Callum grins at her and fixes her grip. He lifts her elbow, sets a hand at the small of her back, and straightens, reminding Rayla vaguely of how tall he’s grown since they first met.

(She’s still taller. Horns count. But he’s definitely  _ grown _ nonetheless).

“It’s a three beat box step,” he says, like he actually knows what he’s talking about, and he blinks like it surprises even him. “I lead with my right foot. You go back on your left. Like this - one, two, three -”

  
  


_ two _

It’s easy compared to a lot of Moonshadow rituals, and Rayla picks it up without any problems. Even in the dress the castle tailors make for her, with its floor length skirts and ridiculous train and its too-tight bodice, it’s easy, and Callum leads her around the dance floor for once confident and graceful in his movements.

There are eyes on them from every corner of the room. All four of her parents are here, of course, and Lujanne had made the trip from the Moon Nexus; Ibis had come from the Storm Spire, and Queen Janai’s come all the way from Lux Aurea; Queen Aanya is in attendance also, both out of formality, and out of friendship; and obviously Aunt Amaya, and Commander Gren, and Soren are all here, standing steadfast by Ezran’s side - but there are a lot of  _ other  _ people too. Rayla barely knows any of them, but it was silly of her to think that the council would allow their prince and heir presumptive to have anything less than a  _ grand _ wedding. 

It’s hardly what they want. They’ve arranged that for next month, in the Silvergrove - a much smaller, much sweeter affair for their family and their closest friends - but altogether, this isn’t so bad.

Callum counts the steps under his breath, not because he’s nervous, but because it’s habit, and she’s certain that  _ nothing _ could wipe that smile off his face tonight. It’s infectious.

“You’re really happy, huh?” she mutters.

“Of course,” says Callum, pulling her close. “I know this isn’t our  _ real _ wedding but… it’s still our wedding, y’know? Why wouldn’t I be happy?”

“I dunno, it’s just…” Rayla breathes in, reluctant to spoil it. “It’s all a bit... big.”

He laughs. It’s nice that she doesn’t have to elaborate, and Callum lifts his arm to twirl her beneath it before he answers. “My mom thought so too,” he tells her. “When she married Harrow. I don’t think she ever wanted me to know, but she was really nervous. She and my Aunt Amaya never liked all of…  _ this _ … but Harrow was a prince at the time, and - well… they didn’t get much of a say for their wedding either. They got this, though.”

“This?”

“Yeah.” His hand lingers at her waist, and he hesitates on the next step for just a fraction of a second too long. “This dance. This was theirs. They made it their own.”

“Oh.” Rayla pauses, but she finds herself smiling wider at the thought. “You should have told me earlier. I knew it was special, but I didn’t realize it meant that much to you.”

“Mm, it doesn’t I guess,” admits Callum. “It’s not  _ my _ tradition. I just… wish they both could have been here.”

Rayla falls silent. Not because she doesn’t know what to say but because she knows how it feels. She’d lost all of her parents too, even if it was only for a comparatively short while. She’d never imagined that they’d be here today, and the only reason they are is because of Callum. She wishes she could do the same for him.

“Do you think they would have liked me?” she asks in the end.

Callum grins and presses his forehead to hers. “They would have  _ loved _ you,” he promises. “Dumb war and all.”

Rayla chuckles. It feels like a long shot, honestly, but she doesn’t doubt him. She says nothing more, and Callum goes back to counting quietly under his breath with that beautiful smile of his gracing his lips.

“ _ One, two, three. _ ”

  
  


_ three _

There’s a lot of dancing at Moonshadow weddings. Rayla’s only been to a handful of them, but it’s been years. She’d had to get Runaan, and Ethari, and Mum, and Dad to explain all the rituals and traditions to them because she hadn’t entirely remembered them herself. There are spells, and vows, and binding rituals, and then there’s the dancing.

It’s not like the human kingdoms. Humans dance at weddings for fun. When Moonshadow elves dance at weddings, it’s all tradition, all the time, and it’s not like that isn’t fun in and of itself - 

It’s just different.

But she pauses the celebrations part way through their reception. Gets out of her seat just as Dad finishes his toast under the guise of wanting to hug him, and to thank him for his help and his role in planning their wedding, and then she taps her fork against her goblet and clears her throat.

The elves here look at her funny. Wedding celebrations aren’t usually interrupted by either the bride or the groom, but her smile is bright nonetheless.

“Thanks for all of this, everyone,” she calls over the crowd. “For being here to celebrate with us, and for accepting us - both of us - into each other’s families. But - Moonshadow weddings are full of traditions, and it’s kind of a new tradition, but I want to propose one more.” She smiles at all of them, but it’s meant for Callum, who’s sitting in his whites and greens at the bridal, intrigued little frown on his face.

“At human weddings, they newly wed couple share their first dance,” she tells her village. “There’s no binding or magic in it. It’s just a first dance as husband and wife. And I want to invite Callum up now to share this one with me.”

Callum hesitates, uncertain and a still a little confused, but he gets up anyway and takes the hand Rayla offers him as he nears.

“What’s this?” he asks her.

“Trailblazing,” she says with a grin. “We’re making this a thing. It’s only fair.”

He purses his lips. “I - um - I’m still not getting it.”

Rayla laughs. Fixes his arms into position and rests his hand at the small of her back. “We’re waltzing,” she says. “Your parents’ waltz. They can’t be here today, but… at least there’s this, right?”

Callum takes his turn to laugh - just a little one, breathy and flattered and full of  _ love _ . “Rayla, I - uh -”

“What’s wrong?”

He shakes his head. “Nothing,” he murmurs, tilting her chin up for a kiss. “I just love you.”

She chuckles. “I know. I love you too. Now dance with me.  _ One, two, three. _ ”

**Author's Note:**

> 1) For tumblr user @just-another-trans-twink for fics fighting fires.
> 
> 2) WHAT A BLOODY MARATHON! Fire fics are officially ALL DONE, I can't thank you guys enough for your ongoing support for this series. Thank you thank you thank you!! Will I do this again? Probably not to this scale - the response was hella overwhelming, and I miss working on my own stuff. Maybe??? We'll have to see ;)
> 
> Thanks again for all your support, team!! I'm so happy to be done!!


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